* Sun-Times…

Plans are underway to sunset Cook County’s contentious property tax sale system in the coming years.

Last week, state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, filed a bill to bring Illinois into compliance with a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed it unconstitutional for property owners to lose the surplus equity they are entitled to once their property has been foreclosed due to delinquent taxes and after the debt has been paid. […]

Under the new system, in lieu of a tax sale, property owners will still have three years to settle their property tax debt. However, if they haven’t by that time, “the county would have to petition the court for a tax deed, and that property would get looped through a foreclosure auction to the highest bidder,” according to Justin Kirvan, policy director in the Cook County treasurer’s office. […]

While the legislation makes its way to the floor, there is still the issue of this spring’s anticipated tax sale. Last year, when Springfield legislators filed proposals to make the state’s tax sale system compliant with the Supreme Court ruling, they also postponed last year’s tax sale until March 2026. However, even if the Legislature swiftly passes this bill, the county’s tax offices and courts will need time to implement the new rules, according to [Justin Kirvan, policy director in the Cook County treasurer’s office].

* Tribune…

While Illinois has not legalized the processing of human remains into compost, companies can still transport bodies to facilities in one of 14 states where it is legal. But out-of-state transportation increases expenses and runs counter to carbon neutrality goals, and might make it harder for loved ones to let go of the deceased’s remains. […]

Beyond being more environmentally friendly, human composting addresses other drawbacks to traditional options. For instance, at a couple of thousand dollars, human composting services are often less expensive than traditional burials, which usually entail embalming, caskets, cemetery plots and headstones, and are competitive with cremation costs. The national median cost of a funeral with a viewing and burial in 2023 was $8,300, while the median price of a funeral with cremation was just under $6,300. Human composting services can cost between $5,000 and $7,000. […]

Still, there is resistance from religious institutions; for instance, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops considers burial the “preferred method” and finds cremation acceptable under certain conditions, while opposing human composting. The Catholic Conference of Illinois has opposed efforts to legalize the process in the state, saying the method “degrades the human person.” […]

Rep. Mary Beth Canty, an Arlington Heights Democrat, will be the lead sponsor of this year’s bill [to make human composting legal].

“People do get nervous because it’s new,” Canty said. “So my goal is to make sure that people really understand we are not trying to force anyone to handle their after-death care in a particular way. We just want to make sure that people have the options that they want to have.”

* Sun-Times…

Sweeping voting-rights legislation emerged Thursday to strengthen the hands of Illinois judges to take control of disputes over redistricting and give expanded safeguards to non-English speaking voters.

The bill sponsored by state Sen. Graciela Guzman (D-Chicago) would codify much of the Federal Voting Rights Act into state law as insurance in case that law is repealed by Republicans in Congress. If passed, the changes to state law would take effect July 1 ahead of November’s general election. […]

The bill would specifically grant judges the ability to redraw racially imbalanced legislative maps and require non-English speaking voters receive translated ballots, access to bilingual poll workers, or over-the-phone non-English assistance, among other things.

The legislation comes amid GOP attempts to weaken longstanding federal voting protections by requiring proof of citizenship and photo ID at the ballot box as well as attempts to invalidate mail-in-ballots.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Amid concerns about data centers’ impact on prices, electricity supplies and the environment, two Illinois lawmakers have introduced a bill to regulate new projects in Illinois.

The bill, called the POWER Act, establishes comprehensive environmental, water and energy regulations for “hyperscale” data centers. State Sen. Ram Villivalam is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, and state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, is the lead sponsor in the House. […]

To address concerns about prices, the bill would require new data centers to pay for their own energy costs, including infrastructure needed to generate that energy. It also requires energy to come from renewable sources and prohibits data centers from shifting costs to residents […]

The bill requires data centers to report their water usage, including how much they take in and discharge. Large centers can consume millions of gallons of water a day to cool computer servers and prevent overheating. […]

To protect the environment and the people who live near data centers from pollution, the bill requires full environmental assessments for how the data center would impact the community. It also requires new data centers to establish community benefits agreements where they’re developed.

The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association…

The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) today released the following statement in response to legislation that would hamper the development of data centers in Illinois, risking economic growth and investment:

“Data centers represent the future of a modern economy, as they make cloud computing, artificial intelligence, analytics and advanced manufacturing possible. These advances will result in billions of dollars of investment in Illinois, generating much-needed tax revenue for local and state governments, employing thousands of construction workers and creating an innovation ecosystem that supports the next generation of tech jobs in Illinois,” said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Illinois’ looming energy crisis follows the passage of several major energy bills that has resulted in the loss of significant baseload power generation, driving up costs and threatening reliability. Instead of penalizing innovation, we encourage policymakers to focus on an all-of-the-above energy approach that prioritizes maintaining and expanding baseload generation sources, investing in transmission and affordable battery storage, and deploying more renewable resources. Illinois can’t afford to keep making the same mistakes while blaming others for creating the problem.”

* Center Square…

Illinois House Minority Leader Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, is renewing her bid to increase transparency in state government by making live legislative committee hearings available to the public after they occur – a shift from the current “live-only” access system.

McCombie recently filed House Bill 4383, legislation that would require that audio and video recordings of all Illinois General Assembly committee hearings be posted online and remain accessible for at least 30 days following each session. […]

McCombie explained the bill represents an incremental first step, extending access for a limited time, toward her broader goal of permanent, searchable archives of all House and Senate proceedings.

“It would take our live hearings and hold them in space for 30 days,” she explained, adding that the technology “shouldn’t be that hard” given that townships and municipalities across Illinois already do this.

* Block Club Chicago…

Environmental advocates are now pressing state legislators and Gov. JB Pritzker to pass the Wetlands Protection Act, introduced by state Sen. Laura Ellman and state Rep. Anna Moeller in February 2025. The bill would require permits for developers seeking to discharge dredged or fill material into state-jurisdictional wetlands. […]

Robert Hirschfeld, director of water policy at Prairie Rivers Network, said the Wetlands Protection Act allows Illinois to act even as federal protections vanish. But resistance from agricultural groups could complicate the bill’s path forward, he said.

“Governor Pritzker has positioned Illinois as a bulwark against some of the most egregious abuses of the Trump administration. And yet, when it comes to some of these environmental issues, I have not seen the same level of commitment and pushback,” Hirschfeld said.

Pritzker’s office declined to be interviewed for this story, but a spokesperson said in a statement that the office will “monitor and review legislation as it moves through the General Assembly.”

“Any legislation that requires additional state resources will be carefully reviewed with budgeteers to understand the fiscal impact,” the statement continued.

* The High Speed Rail Alliance…

Advocates for increasing passenger rail service are urging Illinois legislators, and the traveling public, to support a measure that would require the Illinois Department of Transportation to incorporate frequencies into the Illinois State Rail Plan and the Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan.

The Passenger Rail Planning Act, H.B. 4279, has been introduced in the House by State Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan), and in the Senate, as S.B. 3285, by State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago).

The bill will be heard in the House Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges Committee at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the state Capitol, Room 114, in Springfield.

The legislation requires state planners to include these target service frequencies for trains radiating from Chicago:

◼ Milwaukee, at least hourly; every two hours to Green Bay.
◼ Madison, WI and St. Paul, MN, at least hourly.
◼ Rockford, at least hourly; every four hours to East Dubuque.
◼ East St. Louis, St. Louis and Kansas City, at least hourly.
◼ Champaign, at least hourly; every four hours to Carbondale and Memphis.
◼ Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, and Atlanta, at least hourly.
◼ Indianapolis and Cincinnati, at least hourly.
◼ Fort Wayne, IN and Columbus, OH, at least hourly*
◼ Cleveland, at least hourly*
◼ Detroit and Toronto, at least hourly.
◼ Moline, every two hours; every four hours to Des Moines, Omaha and Denver.
◼ Peoria, every two hours.
◼ Galesburg, Quincy and Hannibal MO, every four hours.

* One of these would provide hourly service to the Northeast Corridor. […]

The Midwest Regional Rail Plan, published by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2021, identifies Illinois as the center of a high-frequency intercity rail system connecting Midwestern cities and states.

This legislation requires the Illinois Department of Transportation to incorporate these service frequency goals into the Illinois State Rail Plan and into the Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan of 2024. It also allows and encourages the department to nominate these corridors for inclusion in the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program, and, for inter-state corridors, to enter into memoranda of understanding or other cooperative agreements with neighboring states.

The legislation under discussion does not, by itself, provide funding for planning, construction or the purchase of equipment for these routes. It simply requires the frequency mentioned above to be included from the outset anytime passenger rail planning is undertaken.

* Center Square…

llinois House Republicans are calling on Democrats to oppose new tax proposals.

State Rep. Dave Severin, R-Benton, said House Bill 4459 would impose fees on backyard campfires, and House Bill 5112 would impose taxes on retail carryout bags.

“By the way Mr. Severin, those s’mores items you just bought at the grocery store, we’ve gotta charge you a bag tax for that. No matter if it’s a paper bag, plastic bag, reusable bag, they’re going to get me for it,” Severin said. […]

State Rep. Kyle Moore, R-Quincy, said the new tax proposals are an insult to working families.

* WTVO…

A new proposal in the Illinois House would require all public high school students to attend a government meeting as part of their civics education.

House Bill 5289, introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Justin Cochran (D-Des Plaines), creates a new section of the School Code that mandates high schools teach a unit on civic engagement, effective with the 2027–2028 school year.

The bill would also require students to attend an open meeting of a local governing body. That could include a city council, county board, township board, or the governing body of a special district, according to the bill text.

If students cannot attend in person, schools would be allowed to meet the requirement through virtual attendance.